aworks :: "new" american classical music

Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra (2000). Philip Glass

skoodge, at livejournal, writes about his iPod top tunes (White Zombie, Rob Zombie, Smashing Pumpkins...) then mentions his "Jubilant" playlist:

And now that I'm on this classical music kick, I think I'll resurrect an old tradition of mine: the Jubilant playlist. It used to be exclusively Jubilant Beethoven, but I think I'll open it up for all of the other classical music I have that makes a great caffeine substitute. First on the list will be the overture to The Bartered Bride. Not only did the SMSU orchestra play selections from it tonight, but I got to see the St. Louis symphony play the overture a few years ago when Sean (Khadgar) and I went to see them. Of course, the focal point of that concert was the AWESOME concerto for two timpani players (each with fourteen drums of his own) by Philip Glass. Man that was amazing. But I digress.

And on Geocities, the ultimate site for this concerto.

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Due to comment spam, this post is closed for comments. Why this and only this post gets so much spam is a mystery. Glass' music is repetitious but not that repetitious.

Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840-60 (1915). Charles Ives.

Kyle Gann, via the Rambler, uses Charles Ives' Concord Sonata as an example of a work that enthuses his students by its improvisatory, intuitive nature:

...they fall in love with the improvisatory feel of the Concord Sonata, the facts that Ives’ unbridled imagination welcomed the wrong notes that got printed, that he added an unforeseen flute to the “Thoreau” movement, and even the very fact that I can’t explain away Ives’ harmony. The theorist’s inability to reduce the music to basic principles strikes them as a decisive victory for the composer.

And the Rambler's response:

A really interesting post from Kyle Gann, on the conflict between system and inspiration in modern composition. It's an old chestnut, and Gann has some notable points to make on the way, observing that many (student) composers see the failure of theory to explain what is happening in a piece of Charles Ives, say, as a victory for the composer. I think the composers' argument is a specious one for either side to take up - theory and practice are not opponents: any musical work is an act of composition and reception, and without one or the other it is unfinished. But at the same time, theory can never pretend to tell you everything about a work, it can only mark one way of approaching it, here, now, and by me...

A Symphony: New England Holidays (1913). Charles Ives

silentsometimes, on livejournal, writes of attending her first symphonic concert, with a movement from A Symphony: New England Holidays first on the program:

we looked at our pamphlet and made fun of the advertisements while reading about the night's pieces. the first, thanksgiving and forefathers' day by charles ives, was very appropriate for the beginning of the holidays. warm and inviting, you could almost see the leaves falling on the lawn of an old country church where service had just let out.

Roberto Abbado conducted the Seattle Symphony.

Four6 (1992). John Cage

Major John Cage-related events are scheduled this month on both sides of the Atlantic, as pointed out by Stirling Newberry and via beepSNORT. In London, the BBC SO, London Sinfonietta et al are presenting the works of Cage, as well as other Americans like LaMonte Young, Morton Feldman, etc. In New York, the Anthology Film Archives is hosting a John Cage film festival, complete with a performance of Four⁶.

One Earth, One People, One Love (2002). Terry Riley

One Earth, One People, One Love, from Riley's Sun Rings, was "razzle-dazzle echoed" by the Kronos Quartet. On the other hand, ConcertoNet complained that large themes are not really suitable for a string quartet.

Kronos also played Steve Reich's Pendulum Music, John Zorn's Cat O' Nine Tails (Tex Avery Meets the Marquis de Sade), Scott Johnson's How It Happens, Mark Grey's Bertoia, Bernard Herrmann's The Day the Earth Stood Still, Conlon Nancarrow's Boogie Woogie #3A, and a piece by pop artists Sigur Rós. Martin Bernheimer reviews in the Financial Times.

this or that? #1

11/21/03 formatting edits...

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Metamorphosis (1988). Philip Glass or
Studies for Player Piano (1950-68). Conlon Nancarrow?

Studies for Player Piano. Metamorphosis is evocative but Studies greatly benefits from the orchestral arrangement by Ensemble Modern. To compensate, I tried to imagine an orchestral arrangement of Glass' work but so far, it's not as good.

Kronos Quartet or
Arditti Quartet?

Kronos. Several years ago, I saw concerts by both on back-to-back nights and concluded that Arditti were the better musicians. But Kronos has really pushed the boundaries of the American string quartet.

Michael Tilson Thomas or
Esa-Pekka Salonen?

Both have made big contributions to American music; the nod to MTT because of his original American Mavericks series as well as the Copland recordings.

Mad Rush (1979). Philip Glass

The music of Philip Glass has its detractors. But his piano music, especially by a talented interpreter, can be quite "musical."  Aleck Karis' version of Mad Rush, on Romeo Records, is quite good, as is Anthony Stalteri on materiali sonori.  There are at least six other recordings, including by the composer himself. Mad Rush is stylistically linked with other Glass pieces; Wichita Vortex Sutra and Metamorphosis.    The music contrasts between simple/subdued and the mad rush of arpeggios. Alex Christaki suggests Mad Rush is like the music of Schubert. It was originally written as an organ piece in honor of a visit by the Dalai Lama. The Glass Engine at philipglass.com has the full version.  If I read the "Glass Engine" correctly, compared to other Glass pieces, Mad Rush is sorrowful, joyful, and intense but not particularly dense.  "Spaceship" from Einstein on the Beach was most joyful; "Suffering" from Symphony No. 5 most sorrowful and most dense, "Opening the Kingdom" from Songs from Liquid Days most intense, and Act 3 Scene 2 from Akhnaten fastest. Amazon has a streaming sample of the organ version. Glasspages has a sample of the score. Weblog these clouds sees it as a reminder of 9/11:

And the ten minutes of Philip Glass' Mad Rush will always serve as a haunting reminder of the remains of the day and the days that followed.

Matachin Dances (1980-81). Peter Garland

Sequenza 21 also recommends the Cold Blue re-issue calling them "precursors of a certain genre of 'California ambiance.' Highly recommended." Available on Amazon although no samples. 11/30/03

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The Letter (1943). Harry Partch

After listening to "American Mavericks" like  Charles Ives and Henry Cowell, Harry Partch comes across as the maverick's maverick.  His use of odd-ball themes is combined with his invention of odd-ball instruments.

The Letter is a short song based on a letter Partch received from a hobo friend.  While humorous on the surface, it also alludes to the difficulties of being poor.  Instrumentation is intoning voice, kithara, harmonic canon, surrogate kithara,  diamond  marimba, and bass marimba. This was on a CRI CD "CRI 40th Anniversary - The Composer-Performer." Also available at Berkshire Record Outlet for $3.99.

Enchanting if a bit odd.

String Quartet No. 1 (1931, revised 1957). Virgil Thomson

The fourth movement, "Lento, Presto," of String Quartet No. 1 by Virgil Thomson is quite charming, especially the presto (very fast) part. Available from Berkshire Record Outlet for $3.99. Also on Amazon UK.

The liner notes discuss how Thomson called the music "neo-romantic"

in an effort to transcend the hymns and popular melodies that had inspired and informed so much of his earlier music and move in a more self-consciously "serious" direction.